Israeli military to remain in buffer zone covering one-fifth of Gaza

The Israeli military will not withdraw from areas along the Israel-Gaza border that it took from Hamas, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday. Troops evacuated hundreds of thousands of people from the seized areas and were urging them to relocate, Katz said.

The news came a week after Haaretz reported that the Israeli military was planning to add the southern Gaza city of Rafah and its suburbs to a planned buffer zone between Israel and Gaza. About 200,000 former residents of the city will not be allowed to return, and Gaza will no longer share a border with Egypt, the report said. The proposed buffer zone includes roughly 29 square miles, about a fifth of Gaza’s territory.

What’s the status of negotiations between Israel and Hamas? Israel wants to enact a ceasefire plan proposed by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, Katz said. Israel is also open to an Egypt-led plan that recently added requirements that Hamas disband. Israel will not allow humanitarian aid into Gaza unless a way can be found to bypass Hamas and get the aid to the residents who needed it, Katz said Wednesday. But Hamas said it would not release remaining hostages or agree to a ceasefire unless Israel completely withdrew from Gaza, according to the Associated Press.